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    #1

    travel expenses

    When a person attends a seminar related to his(her) business, you can count travel days and the actual days of the seminar. If you want to spend an extra day or two in the location of the seminar you can do so as long as it is fewer days than the total of the travel and seminar days. So if you attended a seminar that was 3 days long and you added 2 days for travel (a day each way), you could add 4 days to your trip and it would still be a business trip.

    My question is how do you determine travel days. I live in Florida. IF I drove to Georgia or if I flew to Georgia, it would take me one day. IF the seminar I was attending was in California, it would take me 1 day to fly there but if I drove it would take me 4 or 5 days. If I went to Nashville, it might take me 2 days to drive because I don't want to drive 14 hours straight through.

    Do you count your actual travels days or can you count the days it would take normally(if you drove)? Although I guess normally is now flying....

    I have had this asked of me and I gave my opinion but would like to hear the opinion of others. Thanks

    Linda EA
    Tags: None
    #2
    Ordinary and Necessary

    To me the key is ordinary and necessary. John Madden traveled by bus from city to city to broadcast football games. He would not fly due to a fear of flying. So his trips were ordinary and necessay and all days would count. If someone chose to drive because it was cheaper then this would be ordinary and necessary. But if they drove to see a friend on the way then you would need to make some type of adjustment.

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      #3
      There is nothing in the code that limits your personal time while away. The travel and expenses are allocated between business and personal. The round trip is a travel expense whether by air or car. The allocation to personal is deducted for the extended portion of the trip. All relavent expenses for personal stay would be excluded from the total trip...whether it be lodging, mileage, meals, tips, gas etc. The return airfare or vehicle travel to home would again be deductible as well as lodging, meals etc if it is necessary to stop and rest during the trip.
      Say the seminar is in CA and the client returns via Las Vegas-from CA to Vegas and all expenses while there would be allocated to personal and from Vegas back home would be a business expense.
      Believe nothing you have not personally researched and verified.

      Comment

        #4
        Originally posted by taxea View Post
        There is nothing in the code that limits your personal time while away. The travel and expenses are allocated between business and personal. The round trip is a travel expense whether by air or car. The allocation to personal is deducted for the extended portion of the trip. All relavent expenses for personal stay would be excluded from the total trip...whether it be lodging, mileage, meals, tips, gas etc. The return airfare or vehicle travel to home would again be deductible as well as lodging, meals etc if it is necessary to stop and rest during the trip.
        Say the seminar is in CA and the client returns via Las Vegas-from CA to Vegas and all expenses while there would be allocated to personal and from Vegas back home would be a business expense.
        You can't deduct the travel to and fro unless the purpose of the trip was primarily for business. If you fly to Vegas for the three day IRS tax forum, and stay an extra day to see a show, you can deduct all of the airfare. If you stay an extra week and a half for tourist things, none of the airfare is deductible.

        The base note is asking how you determine "primarily". The answer is to use the actual travel days.

        Comment

          #5
          Originally posted by Gary2 View Post
          You can't deduct the travel to and fro unless the purpose of the trip was primarily for business. If you fly to Vegas for the three day IRS tax forum, and stay an extra day to see a show, you can deduct all of the airfare. If you stay an extra week and a half for tourist things, none of the airfare is deductible.

          The base note is asking how you determine "primarily". The answer is to use the actual travel days.
          Could you give me a resource for this? If the tp would not be going to Vegas if the seminar wasn't there that, to me, makes it the primary purpose. If he choses to take advantage of the fact that he is already there and sightsees for a week or more doesn't change the fact that he went primarily to attend the seminar.
          Believe nothing you have not personally researched and verified.

          Comment

            #6
            26 CFR § 1.162-2 - Traveling expenses.
            http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/1.162-2

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